... He felt an unbearable heat that made his whole body ache. His eyes couldn't focus on anything in particular, and sticky sweat clung unpleasantly to his clothes.
As if in delirium, he called out to his beloved.
«Amiyah... - The swarthy hand reached up, but immediately fell back down from general weakness. - Amiya...
His forehead was covered with a cold towel and his hand was encircled by thin fingers.
«My beloved Raja... - A silhouette has appeared in his field of vision. - I'm here, my king. Your humble wife will never leave you...
«Amiyah... Kha, kha... - A cough from a dry throat prevented him from finishing his sentence. Amiya immediately brought a bowl of herbal decoction to his lips, which left an unpleasant bitterness on his tongue. - The mystery! I must find the solution! The mystery, the mystery.....
She immediately seized his head in an embrace and began to croak through her tears:
«Oh my luminous Solomon... - Small drops of tears fell directly on his face. His delirious consciousness was barely registering what was happening. - What agony it is to see you on this terrible path to the search for truth.... - She sobbed. - How you, without sparing yourself, give up your health in exchange for a secret that may not even be worth anything.....
«There... - His lips spoke as if in defiance of his consciousness. - There's something big hidden in there....
«I know, my Raja... - Lips kissed his sweat-wet forehead to change the compress immediately after. - Your beloved wife will always accompany you..... - Amiya finally looked clearly into his eyes. - Through time and space, I will help you.... Hundreds and hundreds of years will pass, but I will always protect you and help you in solving the mystery.... I swear.
«Shit!
Emeric shrieked out of the vision and stared at his reflection. Dilated pupils and a slightly crazed look that summed up his recent vision. Shaking his head, he washed his face once more with cold water and walked out into the common room...
Solomon, suffering from a fever, was talking about some secret..... So important that he was willing to give up his health? Was Solomon even in control of what Emeric could see? And Amiyah, who was looking straight into his eyes with promise... For a second, it seemed to Emeric that she was looking through thousands of years, right at him.
But that's impossible, isn't it?
Emeric shook his head, chasing away the tormenting thoughts. There was something else to focus on now.
As he opened the door, he heard fragments of Grayfia and Azazel's conversation. The rest of the entourage was sitting tensely on the couch. Akeno, by the way, was particularly glum. There was basically no need to guess why. She was just about to make connections with her father when he was kidnapped.
-... Chaos bastard! - Azazel decreed.
«What's there Chaos? - Emeric intervened, standing across from them. Azazel, the bastard, had taken his place at the head of the room again.
«Someone is coordinating them all. You see, kid," Azazel looked him seriously in the eye. - A few years ago, rumors began to circulate about an organization that was recruiting any strong representatives of the supernatural. I believe there's already a faction of the Old Lords there, and all signs point to the presence of their aid to the Templar Order....
«They teamed up with demons so they wouldn't have to team up with demons? - Squinting he formed a thought and nodded. - Logical... So what do they call themselves...?
Azazel paused theatrically before speaking:
«Chaos Brigade.
Silence...
«Ha ha ha! - Emeric started laughing under Azazel's bewildered gaze. That's what the difference in generations means! - What a cheesy name! Who's in charge of them? Some kind of Brigadier of Qhorn?
Ichika joined in:
«And they will use the Infinity Stones! Drinking their triumph with the Milk of Destruction!.....
Azazel sighed and interrupted their initial brainstorming on a more pathos title:
«At the helm is the Dragon God of Infinity, the Office...
The laughter stopped abruptly. Even Ichika realized the seriousness of the situation.
The Dragon Gods, Ophis and Great Red, were the most powerful beings in the entire world. Their origins were unknown, and their power so great that one Great Red could go up against the other members of the top, not counting Ophis, and come out victorious, almost without exerting himself. They were unattainable and untouchable.
Emeric sighed at the new batch of problems.
«Suppose they joined this Brigade for the patronage of the Office..... - There was an expected nod from Azazel. - Why the Office?
«The office, hmmm... - Azazel leaned back in his chair tiredly. - She has a long-standing conflict with the Great Red... They had a falling out, and the Office decided that some of the rest of the world could help her fight him....
Yeah, that's how Emeric pictured it. The army that the Office has been training for hundreds of years comes out and immediately dies from a random sneeze of the Great Red... The Great Red becomes embarrassed, and from this the Great Red himself helps in finding new personnel in the fight against himself.... That's nonsense!
«Okay, let's leave the motives of beings who are on another level from us random and weak mortals... - Emeric shrugged. - So this was how the Templar Order 'healed' its ranks? Some kind of gift from the God of Infinity?
«I don't know. No, seriously! - He saw the skeptical look on Emeric's face. - I have no idea what this ray from heaven is! And it regenerates limbs and restores stamina in a second! And by the way, don't forget that Heaven couldn't teleport to St. Peter's Cathedral at that moment! It's like not being allowed to walk through your house! There are so many lines of communication there that I don't even theoretically know how to discreetly place a dome that doesn't allow any access! The only clue is Theodore Legrenzi....
That's a good one! They got screwed and they don't even know how! If it wasn't for Dulio's escape, they wouldn't even know these details!
«Okay, we need to deal with the immediate problem," Emeric glanced over to the others. - What are they trying to accomplish?
Azazel sighed once more. It was becoming clear that this question plagued him as much as it did the others.
«I'm not sure, they hardly ever make contact... - Azazel shook his head. - All we know is that they have numerous high-ranking hostages.
«The pope, a host of cardinals, and fallen angels led by Barakiel... - Emeric saw Akeno lower her gaze out of the corner of his eye. - They didn't kill them, which means they don't want another Great War... Rather," he snapped his fingers a couple times, trying to grasp the thought. - Disrupt the peace summit! Bet that Heaven won't escalate the situation and will withdraw from the negotiations....
«That's right...
«But," Emeric grumbled. - That's nonsense! The first rule in dealing with terrorists is not to agree to their terms.... Heaven might not go for that, especially since they are representatives of the church! Somehow I have little faith that the same Vasco Strada or Theodore would go for the assassination of the Pope.... So, the question is who has the balls to crush their opponent....
«Believe me, boy, if you have to," Azazel looked him in the eye, very seriously. - I will continue to negotiate, even if my fallen brothers are doomed.....
Watching the usually cheerful and irresponsible attitude of the fallen before him, it is often forgotten that he is the head of the Grigori. A head that has survived several wars and global conflicts. Meaning, if necessary, Azazel will sacrifice even his old friend. And it seems to Emeric that Barakiel would only approve of his leader's approach. Sacrifice the minority to save the majority, the eternal dilemma that drives all kings mad.
But in this case, Azazel himself is at risk. If Heaven falls for the blackmail and Azazel sacrifices his subordinates, his authority will fall to the bottom.
Akeno squirmed in her seat even more. Now that the prospect of losing her father was real, she began to regret the time she hadn't spent with him. Emeric only sighed mentally at that. He would have to save his father-in-law.....
«But Mikhail... - Azazel shook his head. - You see, Emeric, after the death of God, the Heavens abstracted from the general affairs quite a lot. On the one hand, the impossibility to "replenish" their number, on the other hand, malfunctions in the Heavenly System, to support which takes most of the time of the leader of the angels. And in that time Michael... - He chewed his lips thoughtfully. - Not that he's become spineless, but there's been a lot more backtracking and compromise in his policies. And, as queasy as I am, I can imagine that Mikhail might give a "backhand" in this matter. Not war, no, maybe even a cold peace like the past few hundred years, only already official, but.... - Azazel clutched his head in frustration. - A full-fledged alliance! After this, we'll never be able to unite the Biblical Faction! Now add to the equation an obscure organization with a Dragon God as its leader, and weep bitter tears for our future!
«Fuck!... - Emeric gritted his teeth.
The situation was just awful!
A couple of hours ago, the places and almost the conditions had already been approved, but now everything was about to come to a screeching halt! And all because of a bunch of dissenting exorcists, in whom principles and hatred had been stirred up. No, on the one hand, they could be understood, but they didn't think about the future, where the Biblical Faction could once again become the leader of the whole world.
Emeric was all the more in favor of such initiatives. First of all, he was ready to accelerate the change of policy in Hell to reduce the heat between them and Heaven, and besides, Emeric himself despised the actions of "old-school demons". The alliance between the three factions, no matter which way you look at it, gave mostly pluses.
No, he doesn't agree with that! If he has to, he'll personally find their lair and steal all the hostages. He'll bust his ass, but he won't let the negotiations break down! Besides.
Akeno began to slowly wipe away the tears that she couldn't keep from coming. His girlfriend was afraid of losing her father....
For Akeno's sake.
For my own well-being and peace of mind.
For Aldiss' ideals.
For the sake of a powerful alliance.
For the sake of changing the vector of development of the entire demon race.
Negotiations must take place and that's it!
«Azazel," Emeric addressed the fallen man promptly. - The ring that Dulio used to get out of there. Theoretically, it could pull out of any obstacle, couldn't it?
«It was my first attempt to copy Longinus, specifically the Lost Dimension, unsuccessfully of course... - Azazel looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. - The ring was an old work-in-progress, but I can arrange for you to have a one-time puncture in space, this time for more than one person...
«Can you get it ready for tonight?....
Azazel only remotely understood his plan, but nodded.
Emeric pulled out his cell phone with a sigh.
«Purely theoretically, teacher and student should have an alternative way to contact each other.... some mechanism prepared for a rainy day. If there isn't, it won't work, but luck has always favored me... - Emeric found an incredibly long nickname in his contact list. He couldn't hold back a chuckle, even in such a serious situation. - Dulio, what a lame name you have!
***
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